"One of the Survivors" is a song by the British rock band The Kinks. Appearing on their 1973 concept album ''

Preservation Act 1 ''Preservation Act 1'' is a concept album and the 12th studio album by the English rock group the Kinks, released 16 November 1973 by RCA Records. ''Preservation Act 1'' did not sell well (peaking on the '' Billboard'' 200 at No. 177). However ...

'', the song was written by the band's main songwriter, Ray Davies.

Lyrics

"One of the Survivors" references the character Johnny Thunder, who had appeared in the song of the same name from The Kinks' 1968 album '' The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society''. However, since his appearance in "

Johnny Thunder Johnny Thunder is the name of three fictional superheroes appearing in comics published by DC Comics. A fourth character has the variant name Jonni Thunder. The character appeared in the second season of '' Stargirl'' on The CW network played ...

" in 1968, Johnny Thunder, who is called "one of the survivors" by the singer of the song, has grown "little overweight, and his sideburns are turnin' grey, but he still likes to bebop, boogie and jive to his worn out seventy-eights." The song also references many musicians from the 1950s (that Johnny Thunder enjoys to listen to), such as

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

Dion and The Belmonts Dion and the Belmonts were an American vocal trio prominent throughout the 1950s. All of its members were from the Bronx, New York City. In 1957, Dion DiMucci joined the vocal group the Belmonts. The established trio of Angelo D'Aleo, Carlo M ...

and

Johnny and The Hurricanes Johnny and the Hurricanes were an American instrumental rock band from Toledo, Ohio, United States. They specialized in adapting popular traditional melodies into the rock idiom, using organ and saxophone as their featured instruments. Between ...

, as well as songs such as " Hound Dog", " Blue Suede Shoes", and "

Great Balls of Fire "Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 popular song recorded by American rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records and featured in the 1957 movie '' Jamboree''. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer. The Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 reco ...

Release

"One of the Survivors" was first released as a single in America on 20 April 1973. Backed with "Scrapheap City" (later to appear on ''

Preservation Act 2 ''Preservation Act 2'' is a 1974 concept album by the English rock band the Kinks, and their thirteenth studio album. It sold poorly (peaking on the ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape chart at No. 114), and received a mixed response among critics. ...

''), the single found only small popularity, peaking at a mediocre #108 in America. However, the single was the most successful since "

20th Century Man "20th Century Man" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Kinks. It was released as a single in December 1971 from the band's 1971 LP ''Muswell Hillbillies'', an album with blues and country roots. It centered on such themes as poverty, ...

" in 1971. The single was not released in the UK, but "One of the Survivors" did appear as the B-side of "

Sitting in the Midday Sun "Sitting in the Midday Sun" is a song by British rock band The Kinks, written by their frontman and main songwriter Ray Davies. It was recorded in June 1973 and released as a single in the US and UK the same year. Reviews were generally positive ...

" in said country. That single did not chart. "One of the Survivors" also appeared on ''

'' in June 1973. The album received poor commercial and critical popularity, only hitting #177 in America, and not charting in Britain. Also, the single edit of "One of the Survivors" has since appeared as a bonus track on some CD reissues of ''

''.

Reception

"One of the Survivors" has received mixed reception from critics. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said that "English quartet rocks 'em and socks 'em with nostalgic tribute to some old rock 'n rollers like

, Dion & Belmonts,

Danny & the Juniors Danny & the Juniors are an American doo-wop and rock and roll vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania originally consisting of Danny Rapp, Dave White, Frank Maffei and Joe Terranova. Formed in 1955, they are most widely recognized for thei ...

and Johnny & the Hurricanes." ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

cited the track as a highlight from ''Preservation Act 1''. However, in a more critical view, author Andrew Hickey called the track one of the two weakest songs on ''Preservation Act 1'' (the other being "Where Are They Now?").

References

{{Authority control The Kinks songs 1973 songs 1973 singles Songs written by Ray Davies Song recordings produced by Ray Davies RCA Records singles